Description of the Red Fox
The Red Fox is a small wild Canidae (from the dog family) that is a rusty reddish color. The Red color does not extend to the under part of the dog. The throat, chin and belly are white. The tip of the tail is also white, which is how to determine if the animal is a Red or Gray Fox, which can look similar. The ears are pointed and the backs of its legs and the feet are Black in color.
Habits of the Red Fox
These are very shy nervous animals that are seldom seen. I am a hunter and fishermen and spend lots of time outdoors. I have only seen 4 or 5 Red Foxes in my life, and only 1 in daylight. It is mostly nocturnal in nature but may be seen at dawn or dusk.
They are creatures of opportunity and have a varied diet. It will eat berries, corn, grapes, cherries, apples and other fruits or vegetables. The Red Fox will also eat birds, mice, rabbits, squirrels, crayfish, grasshoppers, crickets and caterpillars. I have also seen one raid a campsite for scraps of food.
The Red Fox will stalk small prey like a cat does. It listens for noise of its intended victim and then digs it out if its underground prey, such as mice. If it is going after a bigger meal, it will try to sneak up on the prey and then run it to ground.
If the Red Fox gets full it will hoard extra food in hiding places. Then in hard times it will return to the cache to eat. It hides the food under leaves or snow if there is any on the ground.
They tend to be solitary animals until mating season. The female will have extra dens to use in case something happens to the maternal den. They will often use the same den for several years. The parents and sometimes helper foxes will bring food to the pups before they learn to hunt for themselves. At around 7 months the Red Fox kits will leave the area and go many miles away to try to establish their own territories.
Habitat of the Red Fox
The Red Fox is found throughout most of North America, as well as Europe, Asia, Australia and Hawaii. They tend to like wooded areas and are very shy of humans.
An adult Red Fox with the exception of a female with a litter of kits seldom uses a den. Even in cold weather the fox will often just curl up under a blanket of snow to keep warm. If they do use a den they are lazy about it, and take an abandoned den made by another animal.
Enemies of the Red Fox
Man is the chief enemy of the Red Fox, of course. They are hunted for sport with dogs and have also been hunted for their fur. And with the advent of the automobile, many a Fox has become road kill. Coyotes and Bobcats will occasionally take a Red Fox. And of course the young ones can fall prey to any number of predators in the area. But rabies, distemper and mange take their own toll on the foxes. I hope you enjoyed this article on the Habits and Habitats of the Red Fox, on associatedcontent.com
